Tardif did skate on his own today, Amerks coach Chadd Cassidy said, so there is a slight chance he could be ready to play in Friday's home game against Hamilton or in the rematch with the Bulldogs Saturday night in Hamilton. It's believed he has a concussion, which he suffered in practice on Dec. 17.

Zigomanis hasn't started to skate yet. He is still recovering from the illegal check delivered by Lake Erie defenseman Mikael Tam in the Dec. 20 game. He suffered an injury to his neck.

Roy is recovering from an undisclosed illness/medical ailment and he isn't expected to play this week. He missed last weekend's two games.

There is a chance that defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen could play Wednesday. Ristolainen is expected to arrive in Western New York from Finland sometime on Tuesday, but where he goes -- Rochester or Buffalo -- hasn't yet been revealed/determined.

The Sabres may want/need him in Buffalo since defenseman Tyler Myers is facing a supsension for his direct hit to the head of New Jersey Devils forward Dainius Zubrus in Saturday's game.

Myers has a telephone hearing with the NHL's department of player safety this afternoon. Here's the video of Myers check, and there's no question the head of Zubrus is the point of contact:

Ristolainen gained hero status in Finland after scoring the overtime goal in Sunday's 3-2 gold-medal victory over Sweden in the World Junior Championships in Malmo, Sweden.

Ristolainen produced 2 goals, 2 assists and 4 points in 5 games with the Amerks between Nov. 19, when he was reassigned by the Sabres, and Nov. 29, when a sucker-punch by Lake Erie's Mitchell Heard caused a concussion.

Here's the video of Ristolainen's "golden goal" from the WJC:

The Amerks certainly need players to get healthy. Of their 18 skaters in the two games last weekend, four were playing on pro tryout contracts and two others (Jon Parker and Colin Jacobs) were players that had been reassigned to the ECHL in November.

The Amerks managed to win 5-2 at Utica on Friday and then lost 5-1 at Hershey on Saturday, falling to 14-12-3-3 and to 10th in the AHL's Western Conference.

The Amerks have lost all three games to Binghamton (they managed to reach overtime in one of those games), and the Senators have been rolling. They are 7-1 in their past eight and continue to lead the East Division with a 21-10-0-3 record.

Even if the Amerks were healthier, Wednesday's game would fit into the guaranteed loss category. Why? Because the Senators don't play in the North Division.

The Amerks are 13-4-1-2 against North foes and 0-9-1-1 against teams from other divisions. Granted, those 11 games have only been against five different teams, but it's a trend that cannot continue if the Amerks hope to earn a playoff spot.

Of their remaining 44 games, 17 are against teams from the North, and nine vs. teams in the Midwest, six are against teams from the West and 12 are vs. the East.

Staff writer:
Kevin Oklobzija covers Rochester’s two oldest professional sports teams, hockey’s Rochester Americans and baseball’s Rochester Red Wings. He has been at the rink for Amerks hockey since the 1985-86 season and, after providing backup Wings coverage for many years, is now the full-time beat writer. A native of Minnesota and a graduate of St. Cloud State University, Kevin arrived in Western New York in June of 1985 and never left. Apparently he likes it here. He still believes National Lampoon’s Vacation may be the best movie ever made.